In the future, new low-level projects will probably use languages that make it easier to write safe programs, like Rust, Zig, perhaps new languages -- each according to the programmers' tastes and preferences -- but what many people might not know is that there are tools (like https://trust-in-soft.com/) that can guarantee no memory errors in C code. They do require a significant effort to use, but it is significantly less effort than a rewrite in another language, and significantly less risky to boot (not to mention that there are quite a few platforms that use custom hardware and don't have compilers for new languages [1]). These tools are actually more battle-tested, and more heavily used in safety- and security-critical systems software than any new language. Given the amount of C (and C++) code in existence and heavy use, those tools and extensions like Checked C (assuming they can compile to C) are extremely important for the quality of software we use.
[1]: https://youtu.be/uqan23518Yc?t=610